Auto FAQs

Do I need uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia?

All FAQs

Quick answer: Georgia does not legally require UM coverage, but roughly 12 percent of Georgia drivers carry no insurance.

Yes. Uninsured motorist coverage protects you from other drivers’ decisions, and in Georgia the odds of needing it are high. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that 19.0 percent of Georgia motorists were driving without insurance in 2023, the 11th-highest rate in the country. Georgia law requires insurers to offer uninsured motorist coverage on every auto policy, and you have to reject it in writing if you do not want it. Keep it. The premium is small compared with what it protects.

What does uninsured motorist coverage pay for?

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays for your injuries and losses when an at-fault driver has no insurance. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, sold together with UM in Georgia, pays when the at-fault driver has some insurance but not enough to cover your damages. Together they can pay for:

  • Medical bills, from the ER visit through surgery and rehab
  • Lost wages while you recover
  • Pain and suffering, the same damages you could claim against an insured driver
  • Vehicle damage, if you carry the property damage portion of UM

UM coverage also responds to many hit-and-run crashes, with no one to claim against. Without it, your main option is to sue the driver personally, and someone who could not afford a minimum-limits policy rarely has assets worth pursuing. Our guide to what happens when you are not at fault in a Georgia accident walks through that process.

How likely am I to be hit by an uninsured driver in Georgia?

More likely than in most states. The Insurance Information Institute puts Georgia’s uninsured driver rate at 19.0 percent for 2023, the 11th highest among the states. Nationally, a 2025 Insurance Research Council study found that 15.4 percent of motorists, more than one in seven drivers, were uninsured in 2023.

That figure counts only drivers with zero insurance, not the larger group carrying Georgia’s bare minimum limits, who become underinsured the moment a serious crash happens.

Why is the state minimum not enough even when the other driver is insured?

Georgia’s required liability limits are low. The Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire lists the minimums as $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 per incident for property damage. Plenty of drivers buy exactly that and nothing more.

The Insurance Information Institute, citing ISO/Verisk data, reports that the average bodily injury liability claim on personal auto insurance reached $28,278 in 2024. The average claim already exceeds Georgia’s $25,000 per-person minimum. A crash involving a hospital stay, surgery, or months of missed work can run several times that figure.

So even when the driver who hit you is insured, a minimum-limits policy can leave a wide gap between what their insurer pays and what you actually lost. UIM coverage fills that gap from your own policy. Our breakdown of Georgia’s minimum auto insurance limits covers why we rarely recommend buying only the minimum for yourself, either.

What is the difference between added-on and reduced UIM?

Georgia sells UM/UIM coverage in two forms, and the choice matters as much as the limit you pick.

Added-on UIM, sometimes called stacking coverage, sits on top of the at-fault driver’s liability limits. Your full UM limit is available after their insurance pays.

Reduced UIM, the non-stacking form, subtracts the at-fault driver’s payment from your UM limit. You collect only the difference.

Suppose a minimum-limits driver runs a red light and hits you, and your medical bills and lost wages total $90,000. Their insurer pays its full $25,000 per-person limit, leaving a $65,000 shortfall. You carry $100,000 of UM/UIM coverage.

  • With added-on coverage: your full $100,000 stacks on top of their $25,000, so $125,000 is available in total. Your policy pays the entire $65,000 gap, with $35,000 left for pain and suffering.
  • With reduced coverage: their $25,000 payment is subtracted from your limit, so your policy contributes at most $75,000 and the total available is $100,000. The $65,000 gap is still covered, but only $10,000 of cushion remains, and a slightly worse crash would leave you paying out of pocket.

Added-on coverage costs a little more each month. For most Georgia drivers it is the right buy, because it makes your limit mean what it says instead of shrinking exactly when the other driver carried the least.

How much UM coverage should I carry?

Match your UM/UIM limits to your liability limits. If you protect others at $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, protect yourself at the same level. Insurers generally will not sell UM limits above your liability limits, so raising one often means raising both on your Georgia auto policy.

If you carry an umbrella policy, coordinate the two. An umbrella policy extends your liability protection for harm you cause others, but many umbrellas do not automatically add UM/UIM protection for harm done to you. Some carriers offer excess UM as an add-on. Ask before you assume you have it.

Your declarations page will say whether your UIM is added-on or reduced, and that one word is worth checking today rather than after a crash. Olive Cover is the consumer brand of Olive Insurance Services, LLC, an independent property and casualty agency in Johns Creek, and we compare UM options across the carriers available through us. Request a free coverage review and we will check your limits, your UIM form, and any gaps in between.